Heart Of The Huntress
by xLSx
Summary: AU. Sequel to 'Coming Home'. Bella and Rosalie have spent the last seventeen years trying to keep the anarchic vampires from unleashing their bloodlust on humanity and doing everything they can to track down the Nine surviving Fae. But in forty-eight hours they will face a day they have dreaded since they learned that even Hades has someone to fear, their Twin's coming of age.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Twilight or anything associated with the movies or books.

**Chapter One.**

**Venice, Italy, 2130.**

"Lap dance for the sexy lady?" A sultry voice dripped into the perfect shell of Alexia's delicate ear.

How many similar suggestive offers had been made since she had taken up residence inside the lavish VIP section of Dame DeWynter's latest club, that was exclusive to the Supernatural, in Venice just ten minutes ago?. She had lost count but each offer was met with the same response.

Alexia, Head of House Thánatos, _Prima_ of the _Sicarri,_ tilted her silvery blonde head to find a buxom blonde water Nymph lingering beside her plush chair.

The other female's delicate hands rested on curvy hips, cradled by a tight black G-string. There was easily five grand in large and small bills stuffed into the waistband and crotch of the tiny pair of panties with more cash poking out the top of the stripper's leather thigh-highs.

A slow smirk, brimming with easy confidence, began to play at the right corner of Alexia's flawlessly sculpted mouth as her Soulless eyes, the colour of dark obsidian slid upward over the Nymph's flat stomach and curvaceous hips to the full creamy mounds of the other blonde's bare breasts like a caressing hand. The Nymph's pale pink nipples were pierced with small gold rings. The stripper's breathing hitched, her chest rising and falling quicker and quicker, the turgid tips of her pierced tits tightening under the _Sicarri_ _Prima's_ intense gaze. Goosebumps visibly spread across every inch of the stripper's delectably voluptuous body. Alexia's arrogant smirk widened as the Nymph trembled before her.

The Club was a pool of arousals emitting from the hundreds of patrons filling the building, so thick on the air a human would be able to smell it, but the heady scent of the Nymph's desire was particularly noticeable as it drifted into her nose, along with something else. Excitement and fear were a potent combination that always appealed to her dark nature. The blended aromas called out to her, promptly rousing shadows of her interest but failing to stir anything significant.

She almost sighed.

Even if she had been capable of becoming aroused for anyone who wasn't _her, _the Nymph was too delicate for her tastes. Amongst all her people, Alexia had the strongest appetites. Alexia was a Hunter without peer, the most voracious and addictive lover and she was the most dominant _Sicarri_. It was in her nature to seek out a partner strong enough to withstand her instinctive need to dominant sexually, to claim, to fuck with wild abandon. Even upon the skin of her immortal lovers, no matter how adept their healing abilities were, regardless of their strength, she always left marks that lasted for weeks and she created euphorically agonising memories.

In terms of physical strength there was nothing remarkable about Nymphs, Alexia knew, their kind were barely stronger than a particularly athletic human. If she were to going to fuck the stripper, she would endure the entire encounter restraining herself, never truly losing herself in the act, or she would end up killing the other female. She would accidentally nick an artery with her fangs when she bit. Crush fragile bones when she gripped too hard. She was perfectly capable of controlling herself, but after so many years celibate with so much pent up lust and frustration boiling just beneath her skin...

_When I get my hands on you, Ashley, I'm going to keep you under me for days._

Alexia tilted her head, a graceful, birdlike motion, "Not this time sweetness"

The Water Nymph shivered, her eyes fluttering closed in response to the whisky-smooth timbre of _Sicarri Prima's_ voice.

Alexia's predatory smirk adopted an edge as she watched the other blonde try, in vain, to stifle a whimper of longing.

"Pity...for me..." The Nymph sighed despondently, chewing on her plump lower lip, glistening with a coat of clear lip gloss "...If you change your mind though, I'll be over at the bar. With a beautiful face like yours, I might just do you for free, all night long"

The other female smiled alluringly before she turned on her six inch stiletto heel and strutted off to the VIP section's private bar at the far end of the plush lounge, earning herself more than a few appreciative glances from the other patrons.

Alone again, Alexia's smirk turned bitter.

The lounge was located on the mezzanine above the main floor of the club. Large and rectangular shaped, the VIP area was enclosed on one side by a huge water feature that provided a shimmering wall of fast flowing water to obscure prying eyes from the regular patrons below. It was a nice and costly touch, she supposed, DeWynter did so love flashing her cash. Two burly male security guards, clad solely in black, flanked the exit leading out from the VIP area into a comfortable stairwell. The lounge floor was covered from corner to corner by black high-thread count carpeting. Expensive polished mahogany tables, holding chrome steel poles that travelled up vertically until they melded into the twelve foot high, white marble ceiling overhead. Plush leather couches surrounded each squared table. Mounted at strategic points around the club, the rapid flashing of neon purple and green strobe lights provided the only real source of illumination in the entire place, the overall lighting was deliberately kept low to create an intimate atmosphere for the clientèle. Slow heavy bass filled the Club, thrumming potently through high definition speakers mounted high on deeply saturated crimson walls.

It was quiet in the VIP section tonight, most of the smarter frequenters had fled when Alexia had arrived for no other reason than they sensed the underlying air of confident lethality surrounding _The_ _Sicarri Prima, _like the limitless sea surrounds a lone island. Only a handful of wary patrons had remained in the lounge, casting numerous curious and covetous glances her way whenever they thought she wasn't looking.

The mere thought was enough to make her scoff at their idiocy. She was an apex predator, vigilantly aware of her surroundings at all times. Upon entering the lounge, she had selected a corner table directly opposite the stairwell, leading back down to the main floor of the club. She had a view of every other patron in the VIP area, and a clear path to the exit.

Sheathed from neck-to-toe in formfitting leathers that showcased her warriors body, sleek and powerful like that of a tiger. She wore a tight black leather jacket over an even tighter black silk tank top. Zipped up to just below the well-endowed swells of her breasts, her half-open jacket and the low neck-line of the top underneath displayed a titillating amount of enticing cleavage. The snug leather jacket clung to the lean flare of her hips. Both her jacket and the silk tank top underneath ended two inches above her waistband, baring a teasing hint of her hard, defined abdomen.

Alexia always wore her leathers when she was out in the field, it was easy to clean blood off of leather.

The inky blackness of her clothing made the pale cascade of her thick glossy mane, secured back from her exquisitely beautiful face in her typical French plait, glimmer like moonlight in the darkest night. Alexia casually drew her wrist-thick braid over one lithe shoulder and leaned back in the plush couch. She kicked up her combat boots onto the edge of the low mahogany table in front of her, stretching out her athletically muscled legs that seemed to go on for days. At six foot four inches, she was a remarkably tall female and her mile-long legs were, naturally, encased by tight butter-smooth leather.

She crossed her legs at the ankle, resting her heels on the table's edge, as she waited for Greyella to finish up her 'business' in the VIP section's private bathrooms. Pressing 'business' that involved twin redheaded Sirens and a certain lack of clothing.

Alexia smiled in the darkness of the club as she linked her long, slender fingers together behind her head and reclined on the overstuffed couch.

She'd taught Greyella well, as she had discovered upon her arrival at DeWynter's club when a pretty female rage demon had politely informed her at the door that the younger _Sicarri _was 'preoccupied' and that she would be late to their meeting.

If it was anyone other than Greyella making her wait, she would have tracked them down and slaughtered them for the insult, or, if she was in a relatively good mood at the time, she would just tear off a few limbs, maybe inflict a little mutilation.

No one else would have dared to make her wait. She hadn't raised and trained Grey just to invalidate her time and effort by killing the ballsy little bugger a couple thousands years further down the line, and Greyella knew it.

Grey was a brave female, she would be proud of her protégé if the younger female wasn't equal parts brave _and_ foolish.

Though she was notorious for her quick and vicious temper, _The ___Sicarri ___Prima_ possessed unnatural patience and stillness. It was a lesson all her kind had drilled into them from the time they were born, on the wrong end of a harsh fist.

The Goddess Artemis was their Creator and like their venerated Mother hunting was their life. It was a fundamental part of them as a species, and to hunt successfully one had to learn the patience required to track prey, to diligently wait and tirelessly watch for hours, even days, at a time before seizing the perfect opportunity to strike down their mark and to disappear just as effectively.

The formal training of a _Sicarri _began at the tender age of eighteen, younger for the Heir apparent of House Thánatos, for Alexia, and spanned a full century with the ultimate goal of learning to effectively utilize and apply their abilities as well as earning the chance to distinguish themselves as full fledged Hunter-Citizens.

The process wasn't dissimilar to the Spartan_ Agoge_ but the rite was far more extreme. The mandatory system involved the removal of each child from their family's Household, immediately afterward, they were integrated into small Battalions under the undisputed authority of the stern Sentinels - a prestigious position and occupation in _Sicarri_ society.

_Sicarri __are_ rigorously trained to master stealth, tracking, cultivating, pain tolerance, endurance and all forms of combat, among other things. Their final test; to kill any target their Sire chooses.

Inside their Battalions, the undistinguished younglings are encouraged by the Sentinels to frequently fight amongst themselves to determine the strongest members of the unit. The Victors then claim ownership of their fallen opponents, publicly using them for sex and other forms of physical release that leave the losers utterly degraded and humiliated before their comrades. It was a reward system designed to encourage victory and dissuade defeat.

During her instruction, Alexia had never lost a fight, no matter the odds stacked against her, but she had started thousands and even taken ownership of a Sentinel toward the end of her instruction. A feat unheard of before, a feat never again repeated.

Failure to make substantial progress in their training by certain milestones was met with severe punishments, even execution should the Lead Sentinel determine that the youngling was unworthy to continue their education.

Their training was brutal, designed to ruthlessly weed out the weak and leave only the strong. There was no room for softness in the Realm of _Theïkós __-_The _Sicarri's _Homeland, a vibrant paradise of mesmerising beauty sculpted for them by the Gods of the Greek Pantheon. Under the gaze of Divine eyes they learned to prize strength above all else.

"You're a fucking asshole Grey!" Alexia turned her head in the direction of the club's private bar, on either side there were two polished red oak doors leading into the separate bathrooms.

The doorway to the women's toilets flung open violently, disturbing the patrons and dancers all gathered at the bar for a drink. In a whirlwind of motion, a petite redhead hurried out of the rest-room.

Even in the dim light of the club, with her superior eyesight granting her the ability to clearly see in the dark, Alexia noted that the redhead's cheeks were flushed almost as dark as her short hair as she went about returning order to the tiny clothes covering her scantly-clad body. The scent of salty ocean waves rolled off of the half-naked woman. It was a refreshing smell that she recognised as belonging to a Siren, combined richly with thick satiated arousal and sheer blazing irritation.

The perfect slash of Alexia's pale blonde eyebrow arched amusedly as another Siren, identical twin to the first, came striding out of the bathroom muttering under her breath in her colourful mother tongue. Alexia shook her head slowly as the two strippers took each other's hands and stalked through the VIP section toward the exit, still muttering filthy curses to themselves and in the most poetic language.

She grinned widely, carelessly showing off perfect white teeth and abnormally elongated canines. Canines that lanced down into her mouth as two inch long, lethally sharp fangs in response to her mood.

She may have taught Grey everything the girl knew but clearly the younger _Sicarri _was in need of a serious refresher course in the art of handling females if those Sirens were anything to go by.

"Artemis' sacred tits!. You mix up their names and suddenly its the end of the fucking world!. They're _identical_ in _every_ way for fuck's sake!" Alexia chuckled darkly when Grey appeared in the doorway to the bathroom with the fly of her tailored black slacks, along with the gold buckle and the tongue of her white leather belt, hanging open. The tight cotton tank top she wore was so tight it clung like a lover's hands to her breasts, Alexia could plainly see the outline of Grey's hard flat abdomen through the shirt.

The younger _Sicarri_ casually combed her fingers through the long mane of her golden blonde hair. The thick strands ended at the middle of her back, and currently looked like several pairs of hands had been buried in the silken strands at some point during the night.

Greyella is a tall female of radiant beauty though her two most distinctive facial features tended to generate a mixed response even among the Supernatural. The other blonde had eyes the colour of overlapping Autumn leaves; patches of rich gold, warm brown and vibrant forest green intermingled to create a truly unique blend that often unnerved those who came into contact with the other _Sicarri._

A long, slim silver scar ran down from the corner of Grey's left eye, over her high cheekbone and her alabaster coloured cheek, over the slender curve of her oval-shaped jaw and down her graceful neck, finally ending at her slight collarbone. It was beyond difficult to leave a permanent scar upon the flesh of an immortal. Though it did nothing to dampen Grey's natural beauty, the scar confirmed what people would come to realise after two minutes in close proximity with Greyella; that she delighted in causing trouble.

Alexia's graceful jaw clenched so tightly the titanium-strong bone made a cracking sound, a persistent tick drummed in her cheek.

The totally alien feeling of regret bloomed to life in her chest as her cold dark eyes scanned the elegant scar upon her protégé's face, but it was nothing in comparison to the constant river of barbed agony funnelling into every inch of her body. It had taken her seventeen years to learn how to take the crippling pain of distance in her stride, to stop roaring uncontrollably until her voice gave out from the crushing knowledge that she was a mated animal and yet, not only was her mate the grandchild of her oldest enemy-the one person she harboured an endless abyss of hatred for-but there were thousands of miles between her and her other half.

A deep growl rumbled in the back of her throat as a pained wince passed over her exquisite face and she absentmindedly reached up to rub at the dull ache of emptiness swirling where her cracked heart was calling out for the one thing that could balm it's deep wound. Her mate.

Alexia's boots hit the floor as she swiftly sat up straight, clutching a hand to her chest as a fiery hurricane built up in heart and wended down through her sternum, assaulting every nerve ending until it felt like a thousand blades were being plunged into her from every angle. Her short, sharp fingernails dug into the leather hugging her torso. Her entire body tensed painfully. Lean muscles undulated rapidly. Her unneeded breathing ceased. The world swirled in front of her unfocused eyes like water circling a drain before fading altogether and the bass thumping heavily into the dim club washed away into dull white-noise.

She was trapped in a cage of inconsolable agony with no escape in reach. She'd thought her training had taught her the meaning of pain but this, this excruciating longing, surpassed every torture and task. She gritted her perfect teeth as her fangs punched down hard into her mouth. She clenched her black eyes shut tightly and helplessly growled ferociously against the shards of icy emptiness piercing her chest. A pained roar built up in her throat and yet she wasn't capable of voicing the echoing sound.

"So it is true then" A cool melodic voice murmured as a soft weight settled on the couch beside her.

Greyella wisely kept out of arm's reach in the event the _Sicarri Prima_ instinctively lashed out.

Alexia didn't know how long it took before she could finally suck air back into her lungs in a semi regular manner.

She panted softly, displaying the length of her deadly fangs, she ached all over like she had just suffered a violent seizure. Her chest throbbed like an open wound turning septic and her head hung limply on her shoulders with her eyes centred blindly on the black carpet between her combat boots. She willed herself to lift her head up, grimacing at the blast of freezing cold agony that shot down her spine when she finally managed to bring the younger _Sicarri _into her line of sight. She teased the points of her long fangs with the tip of her tongue, rolled her strong oval shaped jaw and swallowed tightly to sooth the uncomfortable abrasive feel in her throat.

"Surprise!. The grapevine reaches into exile" Grey's eyes the colour of Autumn leaves latched onto her regal hand where the mating mark stood out proudly on her magnolia pale skin.

Running from her slender thumb knuckle down to her slim wrist in a series of elaborate interlinking swirls and thick bold lines. The glyph appeared as nothing more than an elegant tattoo branded into her skin with dense black ink, it was mirrored exactly upon the flesh of her young mate and it was unique to them, signifying their connection as one, true, irrevocably mated pair.

The manifestation of the mating mark was the instantaneous and involuntary reaction of a _Sicarri_ upon discovering their soul-mate. The greatest gift a _Sicarri _could hope for. Yet the Fates had chosen for her a mate that was not one of her kind, who knew nothing of their traditions, laws or customs, who was _Fae._

"You have no idea how much I envy you right now _Prima_...Sex with one's mate is supposed to be absolutely. Fucking. Mindblowing" Grey purred with a wide playful grin. Her slightly elongated canines were far less noticeable than Alexia's.

Alexia smirked and rolled her dark eyes. She bit the inside of her cheek to prevent herself from hissing. Even that tiny action hurt.

The years had taught her that it was her body's way of punishing her for staying away from Ashley for so long. The spontaneous bouts of agony seized her between rough hands, paralysing her while they viciously tore at her body, for denying what her instincts demanded; she was supposed to be part of her mate's life. First solely as a protector and confidant until Ashley came of age and reached her sexual maturity and then as something much more.

She didn't know when Ashley's exact birth date was, just the week, this week. There had been no time to learn much more before her rage had spiralled beyond her own control that fateful day in Volterra. The same day she had destroyed Aro and plunged the vampire race into a state of anarchy. She didn't even know which of their surnames Bella and Rosalie had decided to give her mate but she had often wondered; _Ashley Swan or Ashley Hale?._ A tender smile of adoration found itself cautiously tilting the edges of Alexia's perfect pale pink lips upward until a heated scowl of perpetual hate shoved it aside; _Ashley. Akasha. Ash._

Her glower deepened and darkened dangerously as her silvery-white eyebrows furrowed. The thunderous growl resounding in her chest electrified the air around her and made the ground shake beneath the soles of her feet. It was a snarl of confusion and frustration that would terrify a pride of wild lions into fleeing from her.

"She isn't eighteen, yet" Alexia muttered, reaching a hand up to pinch the bridge of her elegant nose between her thumb and forefinger to alleviate the pressure piling up in her temples. Her head felt like it was going to erupt like a volcano at any second.

She was at war with herself. She could _feel_ the two sides of her fighting furiously for supremacy inside her. Her hatred for Akasha and Elena had festered inside her for nearly ten thousand years. It was all she knew. She Hunted them to avenge Jodelle's untimely death and Peyral's murder. Alexia lived for her Hunt, relished it, anticipated the end of her Hunt when she would at long last stare down into Akasha's lifeless eyes and know that the bitch had finally received her just-deserts.

She had waited so long for that glorious moment of blessed finality but when it had come to her, when vengeance had been hovering just a hairsbreadth away from her fingertips, waiting for her to seize it. Her steely resolve, unquestionable and undying, had nearly been undone with a single glance into the neon blue eyes of a five week old baby.

_Ashley, _she didn't even know her mate beyond a name and a memory, and yet some part of her was entirely monopolised by the young Fae. She no longer functioned properly. Twice she had held her mate in her arms. Twice she had stared into those blue within blue eyes and briefly mused of a future that did not revolve wholly around Hunting, but instead, around her mate, the young that would doubtlessly result from their union. Twice the conflict raging within her had driven her away from Ashley and her Hunt both, forcing her into a state of limbo.

It was unacceptable, being torn in two ways at every moment of every day and night was making her ineffective as a Leader and a Hunter but she had devised a way to bring Old Promises and New Instincts together in harmony. She would have her revenge and she would have Ashley. She would take it all. She would settle for nothing less.

After ten thousand years spent walking the Earth alone she would finally know what it meant to be complete.

Grey shook her head, "I can smell your frustration, _Prima. _You need release or you are going to lose all control when you claim her, and you and I both know how dangerous you are when you lose control."

Alexia tilted her head back on her shoulders, feeling her waist-length braid of thick silvery blonde hair slide over her back, as she stared up at the high marble ceiling through unfocused dark eyes. Tensing the sculpted muscles in her slender shoulders and graceful neck, she slowly angled her head to either side, listening to the unbreakable bones crack over the loud music funnelling into the VIP lounge. She straightened her back, the tight leather she wore clung even tighter to the lean contours of her body as she stretched out her sore muscles. The cold, confident, calculating glint returned to her eyes.

"I'm aware" Alexia bit out huskily.

Grey shifted on the plush couch beside her, the other _Sicarri _crossed her long legs at the knee and rested one lithe arm along the back of the sofa. The _Prima_ turned her dark eyes on the other female, she wasn't one for small talk it was time they got down to business.

Alexia's soullessly dark eyes hardened murderously when the intrusive sound of approaching footsteps caught her attention, growing louder as the scent of bourbon and desire billowed toward her. A deadly growl rumbled deep in her chest, too low for the encroaching creature to hear and heed. Alexia swivelled her head, her unyielding muscles tightly coiled. She was truly weary of these delays.

The waitress was raven-haired with sun kissed skin and sparkling emerald green eyes. Alexia's nostrils flared slightly, the shroud of hunger cascading from every single one of the waitress's pores stroked over her snow-pale skin.

_Sicarri _had incredibly high sex drives, requiring regular relief, several times a day. Seventeen years of celibacy was driving her insane. She needed to _fuck _so badly the need was a constant dull pounding at the base of her skull, making her feel uncomfortable in her own skin. Sometimes, she would make herself sleep just to try and escape the demanding desire to mate, only to wake up grinding her lean hips into the bed beneath her, one hand between her legs working the drench folds of her cunt while kneading her breasts with the other.

But when she would seek out a female to tend her needs, the fire burning her alive would vaporise instantly as though it had never been, reawakening only when she had dismissed her potential partner.

The waitress, a succubus Alexia noted by her scent of honeyed sex, smiled enticingly, flashing perfect teeth as she reached up to the circular tray she had balanced on one hand.

"From Aurora. The blonde Siren who wanted to hump your leg earlier, and still does in case you're wondering, sexy..." The waitress winked, setting a square crimson serviette on the low mahogany table in front of her and placing the tumbler of whiskey on top.

The raven-haired female tucked the tray under one arm, turned and began to walk away, only to pause on her way back to the bar, she twirled on her heels and smiled.

"...And I'm a Succubus, in case you hadn't already figured it out" Her seductive smirk widened and she retreated back to the bar across the lounge.

Grey wolf-whistled beside her and reached over to the table, moving the tumbler aside, the other _Sicarri_ lifted the red napkin up for inspection, chuckling wickedly as her eyes the colour of Autumn leaves scanned the serviette. Biting back a tormented groan, Alexia watched the Succubus's curvy hips sway beguilingly through seductive half-lidded eyes as her clit began to harden and tingle, her labia moistening between her legs. It was maddening, being able to feel arousal consuming her every fibre but never being able to sate it. By Artemis' gilded Bow, she could not wait to have her mate ready for her, beneath her in her bed.

The sensitive hairs on the back of her neck stiffened and her hackles rose unbidden. Her temper flashed.

"Translation; She is a master of the Karma Sutra and she can go for days without taking a breather..." Grey's full lips curled into a smirk as the other blonde extended the napkin out to her "...You can reach 'Tera' on both her home and cell numbers. She's keen"

Scowling, Alexia snatched the napkin out of Grey's hand, scrunched it up into a loose ball and casually tossed it off to parts unknown on the club's floor. While Grey sighed heavily and slumped on the couch, she snagged her whiskey tumbler off of the table surface and downed the chilled amber coloured liquid in one. A _Sicarri _didn't need sustenance of any kind to maintain their strength but they were perfectly able to consume most forms of nourishment. She savoured the burn of alcohol as it slid smoothly down her throat.

She turned to face Greyella, a derisive sneer curling her full pale pink lips.

"Is that your way of forgetting the reason why you're in exile, Grey?. A different female every hour on the hour?. Taking each day as it comes rather than finding an actual purpose in life?. How is that working out for you?" Alexia set her glass back on the table, upside down. She already knew Grey's answer, wondering aimlessly through life was not the _Sicarri _way.

She arched a brow mockingly at the golden haired _Sicarri_ beside her, knowing precisely how much the younger female wanted a return to her real life even if it involved facing those who cast her out. Birds of a feather fly together and all that.

Grey pursed her full lips slowly as she reached up a hand to trace a finger down the elegant silver scar running down her pale cheek. Alexia took a shallow breath as the night Grey had received the now healed injury raced through her mind's eye.

It was part of Greyella's punishment for the crime of falling in love with the wrong female. In hindsight, Grey was lucky to have been exiled from _Theïkós_ with a scar and the promise of execution should the girl ever return absent an official summons.

The Council of Five, made up of five members of the most prominent Houses, had demanded that she kill Grey for 'defiling' one of their own noble daughters. But The Council of Five held no real political power, the Councillors' only purpose was to provide her with reports concerning the over status and troubles of their Houses, and cadet branches of their Houses, to her. However The Councillors had considerable influence and while she could easily go against their wishes the act would result in a shit storm that she would rather avoid.

As their _Prima,_ the _Sicarri _as a nation were her responsibility. It was her duty to safeguard and preserve the laws and traditions they had lived by since the dawn of their creation, to be the foremost example of a true _Sicarri, _and to act as Judge and Executioner when necessary. By their laws, Grey was culpable for corrupting a female of higher standing than her own but the Father of Grey's 'victim', a Councillor no less, had taken matters into his own hands when he had wounded her gravely enough to leave a scar. Like a human police officer attacking a suspect, that premature act of violence against Greyella had invalidated any trial that might of taken place. It had been a fortunate turn of events for Alexia. She would have protected her Protégé at any cost but she would never have withstood her own self-loathing if she had been forced to defy the laws of her people to defend Greyella.

Grey distractedly trailed the tip of her slender forefinger down the slim silver scar running down the left side of her face. The younger female's jaw clenched visibly to stifle a primal noise of yearning. The other blonde's demeanour changed from playfully lecherous to nostalgic so quickly it sent a pang of _something _almost maternal rippling through her.

Alexia reached out and gently rested her hand on Grey's shoulder as the other female tensed noticeably on the over-stuffed couch beside her. It wasn't compassion that moved her, Alexia assured herself, it was duty. She had sworn to look out for the kid like she was her own.

Grey leaned into her touch as she squeezed the younger female's shoulder a little tighter than was necessary, "I know this isn't the life you want, Grey. So I ask you, do you want to come home?"

The offer she made was like extending a piece of candy out to a young human child after a seven day fast. It wasn't really a choice. What she offered Greyella was life, the benefit of her protection, a home. What orphan didn't long for a home?.

Grey's uniquely coloured eyes latched onto her like a dying flower searching desperately for life-giving sunlight in the depths of a dank dusky cave. The younger female nodded slowly, "Whatever it takes, _Prima"_

Alexia removed her hand from Grey's shoulder and leaned back on the leather couch, "Do you know how many families turn on each other, blame each other, when a child is taken away?" Alexia drawled.

Grey's brow crinkled into a confused frown.

Alexia's smirk was one of icy malice, "My mate comes of age this week. Her place is at my side. You will join me when I take my mate away from Akasha and her family. The whole race despises Akasha for what she did to Jodelle, and I have a feeling her daughter, Bella, will hate her just as much when I steal Ashley away. Akasha is going to know the agony of losing everyone she loves before I kill her, at last" She ran her tongue over her vicious-looking fangs, anticipation filling her with adrenaline.

Grey's eyes lit up knowingly, "Jodelle was beloved of all our people, whoever hurts her killer..."

"Exactly..." The _Prima_ interrupted. Swiftly and regally rising up to her feet, eager resolve flashed in her cold, dark eyes "...Now lets go raise some hell."

**TBC. . .**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Twilight or anything associated with the books or movies.

**AN: Yeah, I wasn't lying when I said it would be a while before I could update so I want to thank you all for your amazing patience and support, I really appreciate it.**

**Chapter Two.**

_**Denali National Park, Alaska, United States.**_

A determined growl rumbled deep inside her chest as, seventeen year old, Ashley Hale sprinted headlong beneath the gunmetal grey sky, tearing carelessly through the snow-blanketed forest in her search for the creature who continued to elude her best efforts at capture.

With her instinct loud and clear, her senses finely attuned to her familiar surroundings, she effortlessly hurdled over the occasional fallen cedar and spruce tree, as well as the large boulders protruding up at odd intervals from the frozen ground as she relentlessly pursued her prey's repellent odour across the variable terrain.

The icy Alaskan wind, several degrees below freezing, surged against her. Ashley's long mane of thick golden blonde hair, pulled back from her hauntingly beautiful face in a tight ponytail, billowed out behind her as she raced as fast as a speeding bullet to catch up with her prey; a Kobold, sprites that materialised as humanlike figures the size of small children. Kobolds used their magic, limited to the extent that they could teleport over short distances and briefly alter their physical appearance for a time, to paint themselves as cherubic and innocent to lure in their unwitting victims. In actuality Kobolds were hunched, vile creatures with reptilian skin, glowing yellow eyes and a hunger for human flesh. The hindrance of their size and constricted magical ability meant that Kobolds often chose small children for their prey, something that made them widely unpopular within the Supernatural Collective.

The Kobold Ashley hunted had snatched a sickly four year girl from her preschool just as the young human's mother had arrived to take her home early. Ashley and Lucas, with their extraordinary eyesight, had clearly seen the altercation from the parking lot of the highschool they attended toward the very end of their lunch hour, the two buildings were relatively close together but there was enough distance between them that only she and her younger brother had taken notice of the attack. The Fae Twin's acute sense of smell had alerted them to the Kobold's encroaching proximity as it surreptitiously approached the concerned human mother and her ailing young while they were walking out from the school to their car. The Kobold had discreetly crept up behind the pair and violently shoved the unsuspecting elder human, knocking her completely off balance and sending her careening into the hard gritted asphalt while the sprite immediately began dragging the human girl away from the scene. Ashley put the little human's lack of resistance down to shock over the sudden attack.

Ashley's unbeating heart had lurched up into her throat as she was forced to impatiently wait for her human friends, crowded around her and complaining about the bitter cold while she hastily rooted through the glove box of her black and silver Land Cruiser searching for her loose English notes, to be drawn back into Denali High by the shrill ringing of the school bell announcing last period. The Fae twins had sped over to the other school building the very instant they were certain there would be no potential witnesses to them using their remarkable physical abilities. Unfortunately the brief delay had allowed the Kobold to already have made its way into a quiet alleyway nearby where the creature prepared to teleport away.

Ashley hadn't lingered outside the preschool for long but at the very first glance, it had become abundantly clear to Ashley that the child's mother had suffered a bad head injury, the fall had rendered the human unconscious and there had been a worrying amount of blood already spilling across the snow-dusted ground. After instructing Lucas to call for an ambulance and remain back in town with the injured human until help arrived, she had instantly raced after the Kobold, the sprite had already removed its cherubic mask in favour of its own grotesque visage. Catching up with the vile creature and it's terrified captive hadn't been a hardship, requiring only a few seconds. With the unwavering intention of quickly and cleanly breaking the creature's neck, a fatal injury to a species that lacked any regenerative abilities, Ashley had lunged for the Kobold, unfortunately the hunched reptilian sprite had narrowly managed to teleport itself and the child out of her reach, when she was barely a hairsbreadth away.

The Kobold had carried itself and it's victim out of the small sleepy town of Healy, Alaska, population 1,035, and into the closely neighbouring National Park. It hadn't gotten far, a Kobold's magic wasn't powerful enough to carry it over a large distance especially when it was dragging a human, who was more or less the same size as the creature, along with it. She had been chasing after them for nearly forty minutes, staying hot on the creature's heels but it continued to elude her, it was like trying to get her hands on a slippery fish.

Ashley's chest began to ache profoundly when the broken sounds of crying drifted on the furious wind to her sensitive ears. She leaped over a thick line of baring shrubs, clearing the five foot tall bushes with ease, her stride remained smooth and agile as she landed on the other side of the shrubs.

She pumped her lithe arms, pushing herself to run faster and faster, the soles of her shoes hitting the ground made the snow crackle and crunch audibly beneath her boots. Her Dolce and Gabbana, dark brown leather jacket with zipped sleeves creaked loudly as she sprinted so quickly that even to a Vampire's eyes she would appear as nothing more than an obscure blur. Her jacket, made of butter-soft lamb leather was zipped up to just beneath her ample chest, utterly unmoving, she wasn't about to waste her energy by breathing needlessly. She could hear the small female child wailing in the distance as her momentum increased rapidly and smell the salty scent of falling tears. The lean muscles in her endlessly long legs, sheathed in bootcut Armani jeans that hung low on the lean flare of her hips, burned almost painfully with exertion but that didn't deter her in the slightest, not when she could hear the little girl's frightened cries for help echoing through expansive forest, not when she was that human's only chance for survival. Her formfitting, long sleeved, white Gucci sweater clung to her voluptuous torso, emphasising a hard and flat abdomen while cupping the soft mounds of her full and generous breasts like a pair of loving hands, the moderate neckline displayed a teasing hint of her cleavage. Her clothes were expensive but simply cut and tailored to fit her lean body like a glove.

"Mama!..." The tearful cry ended abruptly with a bout of hysterical sobbing. Ashley felt as though someone was slowly peeling strips of flesh from her heart with each racking sob that rang out into the forest.

It was late Fall, verging on Winter, and naturally the sun was setting earlier in the evening and rising earlier in the morning but in Alaska, the seasonal change meant that the sun was setting at around 2:30PM and rising at 3:42AM. The temperatures plummeted as night fell. Ashley worried about the human, she knew the girl didn't have a coat.

The sky overhead darkened and brooded with churning charcoal grey clouds, turning the thick white snow, that covered every available inch of the forest stretching out around her in all directions for as far as the eye could see, shades of slate grey and the lightest blue. She gritted her perfect pearl white teeth. In Ashley's mind, she just couldn't seem to run fast enough as she smoothly weaved through the tall trees and bounded over their thick coiled roots reaching up through the earth.

The child's sounds of distress were growing louder with every elegant yet rapid stride she took. She was getting closer. There were short pauses in the Kobold's game of 'Now you see me, Now you don't', brief moments when the creature had to rest in order to muster it's waning magic so that it could teleport away from her. Moving in jagged zigzags and often doubling back around her as it tried to escape, the creature had lead her all over the 6 million acres forming the National Park in a single afternoon. It was the Kobold's pauses that allowed her to catch up with it and the human child, only for the sprite to slip from her grasp. Her frustration set fire to the venom running through her veins, like putting a match to kerosene she was driven to move even quicker and quicker with each foiled attempt at capturing the Kobold, but the pauses were growing longer and the distance covered wasn't nearly as broad. The Kobold was getting tired. Her tenacity would pay off soon enough. She just hoped that when she got back to town with the little human, it wasn't to find out that the girl's mother had suffered a fatal injury.

"...Mama!...Please!...help me!"

A searing pain, so intense she nearly stumbled mid-stride, exploded in Ashley's chest at the heartbreaking sounds of a child begging for comfort from a Mother whose fate was uncertain. She couldn't begin to imagine the little human's fear as the four year old was dragged away from her home and her mother by a grotesque creature with glowing yellow eyes intent on eating her. To be abducted by a full grown human would be traumatising enough, but to be kidnapped by what a tiny human child would perceive as a monster the likes of which belonged in storybooks and movies, how damaging would this harrowing experience be to a young child's psyche?. Ashley felt sick to her stomach just thinking about it.

As she sprinted on by a pair of deer nosing vainly through thick layers of snow in search of grass and rearing up on their hind legs to nibble at tree bark, her sculpted upper lip curled into a vicious snarl when the ripe and overpowering scent of fresh urine wafted toward her on the breeze. It was all the answer she needed. Aggression became a dull pounding at the base of her skull. She could feel her inner animal clawing sharply at the underside of her flesh, her primal side was thoroughly absorbed in the exhilaration of the hunt and the desire for blood. Her Mother and Sire had raised her and brother to value human life even if it was so fleeting. The majority of the Supernatural Collective were anti-human on account of humans being so self-destructive, it wasn't forbidden by the Collective's ruling body, but the Races still considered the killing of defenceless human younglings to be the worst kind of taboo. The Denali Coven of Vampires, Shifters and Fae judged humans, and all other creatures, based on their own individuality and choices. Ashley itched to feel the bones of the despicable child-murderer snapping beneath her fingertips.

The ground began to shift subtly beneath the soles of her boots, the snow-covered earth gradually grew steeper, forming a thirteen foot tall hill crested by trees and stretching far to either side like a vast encroaching tidal wave that concealed whatever existed on the other side from her view.

Ashley skidded to a stop at the bottom of the hill, leaving a long prominent gouge in the thick snow behind her and inadvertently kicking up a slew of snowfall that sprayed out like a thick mist before settling upon the ground once again, when her preternatural situational awareness sparked to life. It was one of the most unreliable skills in her arsenal, it was also one of the most useful, second only to her Hereditary gift of Pyrokinesis; the ability to create fire that burned half as hot as the sun, to manipulate it and control it with nothing more than a focused mental command. Both talents Ashley had yet to even begin to master. As a 'Baby Fae' her physical attributes were her primary assets. Her strength, her speed and her intensified senses had been growing more and more potent everyday since birth. However, her psychical abilities came in dangerous and uncontrollable fits and bursts when she attempted to use them, or they wouldn't work at all when she tried to channel them, so she had stopped trying after several 'explosive' incidents. Even Lucas, who had always been more in touch with his Hereditary gift of Shrouding, the ability to completely camouflage his existence and that of anyone he came into contact with from even the most seasoned Hunters, her little brother had been able to channel his power since birth but he was having just as much trouble as she was with controlling his powers now that their eighteenth birthday was looming on the horizon and both they and their gifts were developing so that they could finally fend for themselves without having to rely on their parent's guidance and protection.Their ancestors called it _Excitatio, _'The Awakening'.

Ashley's long pale eyelashes settled upon her high aristocratic cheekbones as her lively intelligent eyes, a swirling mixture of inky black and bright neon blue, fluttered closed slowly. It came over her like an ocean wave mercilessly crashing down on her head and sweeping her out the physical shell of her body and into the currents of the world. Her already keen senses sharpened drastically, tuning themselves into every little movement, scent and sound within a circular radius of five kilometres. In that instant Ashley could outperform a military grade sonar radar and a pack of cadaver dogs. Her ethereal awareness of her surroundings was incredibly surreal, like she was softly severed from her own body and was now looking down at herself from above. Mother Nature gave her eyes to see what she would otherwise be blind to.

At first, the experience was overwhelming, like being tossed into the deep end of a swimming pool without first being taught to swim. She felt almost buoyant as the fabric of the forest funnelled into her. Alaska boasted an abundance of diverse wildlife and though they were nowhere in sight she could smell them and hear them as though they were standing next to her. She could feel the movements of every mammal, large or small, across the five kilometres, the loping of over a hundred pairs of paws and hooves sent minuscule quakes through the earth to the soles of her feet and yet, if she wished, she could easily match the vibrations to the individual beast causing them. The howling of the wind grew higher in pitch, like someone whistling directly into her ear, as the freezing air washed over her angelic face. Along with the piercing cries of a golden eagle swooping above the forest's canopy, she could hear sharp talons scratching against twigs as birds burrowed into their nests high up in the trees and the snoring of slumbering squirrels and bears nestled in for hibernation. There was so much information to absorb in a few moments, but before long, she held a precise bird's eye-view of all she surveyed in her mind's eye, an intricately detailed map to lead her directly to her prey.

Ashley systematically eliminated all irrelevant odours and noises, like flicking off light switches, she narrowed her search area within the five kilometre radius, turning all others dark. As beautiful and enchanting as the wilderness of Alaska was, the only thing that held any meaning to her at present was rescuing the frightened human child from the tiring Kobold.

"Gotcha" She whispered, a grim set to her mouth, when she realised how close her prey was to her current location. Her preternatural situational awareness fizzled out and once again she saw through her own eyes.

On the other side of the towering hill that she lingered at the base of, the Kobold was resting forty feet away in a small grove. Even over the distance she could hear the creature panting in exhaustion and smell the putrid scent of it's sweat. Triumph flooded her veins. The end was in sight, this time, there would be no escaping her. Ashley bared her perfect white teeth in a wide predatory grin and a wicked twinkle lit up her eyes, still shining a mix of inky black and bright neon blue.

Her pleased smile dimmed and faded when she heard the human girl weakly pleading with the Kobold to let her go. The disgusting creature's scolding reply, in its native tongue, was harsh and stunted but she was relieved to note that she didn't register any sounds of a physical reprimand, a slap or even a bite. She could detect the stale scent of the Kobold's fear and panic clouding the icy air like smog over a city. It pleased her. The little fucker deserved to know terror before it died. It was only Just when the chances were that the little girl would be marked in some way for the rest of her natural life.

Ashley growled low in her throat and started forth. Sleek muscles flexed and rippled beneath the designer clothing clinging to her voluptuous body as she stalked up the tall hill with long confident strides. Snow and dried foliage crunched and snapped loudly beneath her boots. She made no effort to dull the sounds of her approach. The Kobold's heavy breathing quickened and she heard it whimper as she crested the hill. As a species of mine and cave dwellers, Kobolds were virtually blind and relied heavily on their heightened sense of hearing and smell to guide them through the darkness of their habitats, it was how the sprite had managed to detect her each time she had closed in on it. She'd had no time for subtlety in her movements.

Though it probably couldn't see her very clearly, the Kobold stared up at her from beneath the hood of a worn and dirty robe that had obviously been torn and sewn back together in numerous places, the robe looked to be decades old and the cowl was pulled down to cover most of it's owner's unshapely face. She couldn't even define whether or not this particular sprite was male or female, but it didn't matter to her either way. Ashley glared down at the exhausted creature, it was doubled over between two cedar trees with it's malformed and scaly hands braced on it's knobbly knees, spittle dripped from it's lipless mouth, not unlike a snake's mouth, while it panted heavily. A warning hiss escaped Ashley's full pink lips when the creature's glowing yellow eyes flicked down toward the traumatised human child, the girl lay curled up in a tight ball at her captor's feet, shaking. Ashley growled deep in her throat when she noticed the four year old suckling noisily on her thumb, wide-eyed and gazing into nothing.

Ashley tensed and lowered herself into a perfectly balanced crouch atop the hill, her long slender fingers curled into the cold bed of snow as she readied herself to leap over the forty feet of forest floor separating her from her prey, when the Kobold abruptly reached into the flared sleeve of it's robe. She snarled and, with the grace of a jungle cat, immediately launched herself into the icy air, gliding elegantly over the distance. She knew from her general lessons with Eleazar that Kobolds made weapons and cutlery from the bones of their child-victims and they were known to carry their bone-knives in the sleeves of their robes. The creature meant to kill the child. For no other reason than to spite her.

The sprite didn't even have the chance to produce it's blade. When she was within range, Ashley twisted herself into an impeccable somersault, the likes of which would make an Olympic gymnast turn green with envy, the toe of her right boot slammed into the Kobold's abnormally jutting chin as she flipped mid-air. A satisfied smirk toyed with the corner of her luscious pink mouth when she heard it's jaw thunderously shatter into a thousand little pieces. The sheer force of the kick knocked the creature clean off of it's feet and sent it flying a good twenty yards backward through the air until its hunched body smashed into the grooved trunk of a cedar tree. Bark cracked and the trunk groaned from the force of the impact, which also disturbed the beds of snow clinging to the tree's flat branches and long-scale leaves. With a muffled sound, clumps of snowfall fell heavily to the frozen ground from the treetop.

Ashley landed lightly in a crouch, pressing the knuckles of her fisted hands into the snow, her lean muscles coiled tightly as adrenaline surged through her body. She sprung into action, racing toward the fallen Kobold as it lay motionless at the base of the tree.

The creature lay on it's stomach. One malformed arm was stretched out limply above its head, it's elbow bulged like a baseball. Wet sputtering, croaking coughs and soft groaning noises emitted out from underneath the sprite from it's lipless mouth. It was barely conscious and had probably suffered massive internal damage when its small stumpy body slammed into the tree.

With the tip of her boot, Ashley effortlessly located the tenth vertebra in the back of the Kobold's neck, marking the spot like a medieval executioner would mark the necks of the condemned before swinging the axe. She lifted her foot, bending her knee and with a soft grunt she viciously stomped on the sprite's neck, severing the bone cleanly with a loud snapping noise. The wet noises bubbling from the Kobold's mouth fell silent instantly. The wind whistled clamorously, whipping the long fall of Ashley's blonde hair around her slender shoulders as she studied the corpse at her feet, a small amount of thick blood pooled out from under it's head, face-down to the ground, staining the snow bright red.

Ashley tilted her head back on her shoulders, staring up at the swiftly darkening sky and listening to her inner animal roar it's satisfaction with a successful hunt in her ears. A deep rumbling growl, almost a purr passed her full sculpted lips as a sense of profound peace came over her beast. The inky black swirling in her eyes was swallowed by neon blue and her young, lean muscles ached pleasantly. She breathed a prolonged sigh and rolled her slender shoulders. The human child was safe and the Kobold was dead.

The sound of chattering teeth had her whirling around on the spot. She cursed colourfully under her breath and hurried over to the little girl, still laying curled up in a ball on her side in the snow.

"Hey sweetie" Ashley crooned as she crouched over the little human, dressed in a pair of faded jeans, boots and an overly large bright yellow sweater. The child had had a three layered water-proof winter coat, but the Kobold had torn the coat free from the girl and left the puffy piece of clothing in one location while it teleported itself and the human away in a desperate attempt to create a false scent trail. Stupid creature, the Kobold's repellent odour of rotten garbage mostly cancelled out the youngling's scent of wax crayons and fresh apples, even a human would have been able to detect the sprite's stench on the wind. Unfortunately the lack of the winter coat left the human's little body vulnerable to the unseasonable coldness. Ashley's perfectly shaped blonde eyebrows furrowed with concern when the girl began mumbling incoherently, as though the youngling were suffering some sort of delusion. It was one of the first signs of hypothermia. _Shit._

The girl didn't even acknowledge her presence or attempt to move. Ashley's oval shaped jaw clenched, causing a persistent tic to form in either porcelain cheek as she stifled a harsh snarl. Her gaze darkened again as she swivelled her head back to the dead Kobold. She found herself pondering how many children it had butchered and eaten over however many centuries it had existed and she suddenly regretted that she hadn't made the thing hurt before ending it's life. Anger at herself and the creature began to boil in her stomach, in the venom running through her veins. She shook her head quickly, dispelling the volatile emotion before it could take root and returned her attention to the little girl. Justice was served. Getting the girl somewhere warm was her main priority now.

"I've got you. You're safe" Ashley whispered, her melodic voice soft and soothing as she slipped her elegant hands beneath the child, scooping the human youngling up into her arms as she straightened out of her crouch. She wasn't expecting a response, she just wanted the child to register that she was no longer in any danger. Fae couldn't be sustained with human blood.

With one arm under the girl's bent knees and the other around the little one's shoulders, she carefully cradled the human against her ample chest, deeply wishing that her core temperature ran above freezing when she felt the human child shivering profusely against her, deep heaving shudders that made her worry for the human's health. The little girl's clothing was soaked through, not only from having wet herself, but also from laying on the snow-covered ground for so long. Ashley cocked her head, listening intently to the child's heartbeat. Ashley cringed in response to the sluggish noise brushing against the delicate shell of her ear. The youngling's heartbeat was far too slow. The below freezing temperatures had definitely induced hypothermia. The slowed heartbeat reduced blood flow which prevented major organs from receiving oxygen and the vital nutrients required to function properly, without them, the girl's body would begin to shut down.

"Hang on, honey. We'll get you warmed up soon enough" She whispered into the girl's wealth of unruly chestnut coloured curls.

It was her parents one concession if she and Lucas were to attend a human school, they would be watched over constantly, a family member was always lingering discreetly on the edges of the school grounds 'just in case'. It was the Shifter's week on sitter duty and for once Ashley was damned thankful for her parent's overprotectiveness. Her Quileute Aunt and Uncles had more than enough body-heat to sustain two beings.

Turning on her heel, she started to head back the way she had come, toward the thirteen foot hill, but something made her pause in her tracks when she had barely taken two steps, a prominent thought grabbed her attention and refused to let go, like a dog with a bone. Ashley glanced at the Kobold's corpse again. The body would need disposing of before a human discovered it. It was the one universal law respected by the entirety of the Supernatural Collective; keep their existence hidden from humans, they were better off in their own world. Clutching the shivering brunette human tighter to her chest, she looked around the small grove, studying her location with a trained eye. They were a long way away from any hiking trails and the nearest camp site was over a dozen miles off, The dead Kobold really couldn't have had much of a plan besides getting away from her with it's intended meal. It was extremely improbable that the corpse would be found. She would have to return later for the body, tear it into pieces and tactfully dispose of them in the Taku glacier, the widest and deepest glacier in the world.

She could take care of the body now, hand the child over to whichever shifter was coming after her and dismember the corpse while her Aunt or Uncle returned the human to Healy. Ashley cocked her head thoughtfully, suddenly realising that the human authorities were probably waiting for her back in town and that if anyone other than her returned the youngling it would raise several red flags. Lucas would have had no choice but to tell the paramedics, when they arrived at the preschool to attend the injured elder human, about the little girl's abduction. The EMTs would have eventually learned that the elder female had come to pick up her sick daughter from the school's faculty and lying about the missing girl would again, earn them unwanted attention. Her parents had always preached that if lying became necessary to protect the secret of their existence, make it as close to the truth as it can be, its more believable that way. It was a lesson well learned. She wondered what half-truths Lucas had fed the police and what others she was going to have to give in order to cover their asses.

Ashley peeked down at the human in her arms, hoping the girl wouldn't be unnerved by the unusual colour of her eyes but she needn't have worried, the brunette girl had fallen into a cold induced sleep, she was still shivering profusely and her lips had turned a troubling shade of blue. For the human's sake, she prayed that the girl's sleep was dreamless and that the brunette wasn't subconsciously reliving her abduction, the youngling had enough going against her right now.

In the distance a wolf howled, a great resonating sound that echoed throughout the entire forest, far louder and more majestic than that of the common wolf. Ashley had been trained from a young age to tell the scant difference between the howls of the kindred species. Her 'babysitters' were finally catching up to her, they would have been following her from the get-go but given that she was a lot faster than most Races, the Shifters were only just now closing in. A second wolf mirrored the call of the first, she noted that the second howl was a few decibels lower than the first and that the two cries originated more-or-less from the exact same location. The difference was so minute she doubted a human would notice but she could tell by the difference in vocal tones that the two Shifters following her were female and male, Leah and probably Seth, leaving Jacob back in Healy with Lucas. The piercing baying of the wolves didn't disturb the four year old girl cradled limply against her chest. Ashley tilted her head down at her charge, gnawing on her lower lip worriedly, she really didn't like how pale the youngling was or the child's almost seizure-like shuddering. She took off a smooth jog, she was careful not to jar the child in her arms too much as she swiftly climbed the tall hill. The first wolf howled again, her Aunt was calling out for her.

"Leah!" Ashley yelled urgently for the Shifter when she heard the little human's already struggling heart suddenly stutter to a stop.

"Fuck" She cursed, realising that she had no choice but to place the lifeless human back in the snow to begin CPR, the frozen ground would continue to affect the four year old's body temperature and hinder her attempts at revival.

Panic sank its claws into her chest as she dropped to her knees and settled the brunette girl on the ground atop the hill, but she acted with the sure and steady hands of a seasoned Doctor. Between Eleazar and Tanya's extensive knowledge of human biology, she knew exactly what she was doing.

Ashley unzipped her D&amp;G, dark brown leather jacket and swiftly shrugged out of the expensive material, leaving her voluptuous yet lean upper body clad in only her white long sleeved Gucci sweater. She laid her jacket flat on the deep snow with the black silken inside of her designer jacket facing upward toward the churning sky, it wasn't much but it was _some _kind of buffer between the child and the freezing snow, and gently scooped the unmoving human girl on top of it. Placing one palm over the back of the other, Ashley started chest compressions two inches deep and at a rate of one hundred per minute but she was careful to mind how much pressure she applied, with her strength it would be all too easy to completely crush the girl's ribs and rupture the organs beneath if she wasn't cautious. Naturally, she could perform more chest compressions and execute them faster but to successfully create artificial circulation she had to closely mimic a human's actual heartbeat rate.

As she confidently continued chest compressions, Ashley focused her attention on listening out for any sign that the child's heart might begin beating on its own again but all she could detect was the sloshing of blood being manually pumped though the girl's veins. She clenched her oval-shaped jaw and growled low in her throat as she wordlessly willed the girl to fight.

"Come on sweetie. Don't you give up on me now" Ashley stopped compressions and cupped the girl's jaw, she eased the lifeless child's mouth open and covered the human's cold dark blue lips with her own, she exhaled slowly and deeply into the youngling's lungs, trying to stimulate independent respiration. Toward the back of her mind she became aware of the sounds of crunching snow and foliage as the two Shifters came running barefooted up the thirteen foot hill, panting lightly. Ashley's eyes fluttered closed as a wave of relief welled up inside her.

"Ashley!" She continued giving the human mouth-to-mouth as Leah, dressed in cut-off jeans and tight black tank top that moulded itself to a lean yet buxom upper body, crested the hill with Seth close on her heels, likewise dressed in cut-offs but without a shirt, leaving his heavily muscled chest bare. Both Shifters were covered in a light sheen of sweat that made their caramel-coloured skin visibly glisten. Ashley started preforming chest compressions on the dead four year old and glanced up at the Shifters. Both Quileutes wore stricken expressions as they briefly studied the pale youngling.

"We need to warm her blood. When I stop compressions, pick her up and hold her between you, then when I say put her back on my jacket so I can keep going with CPR" Ashley explained to her Aunt and Uncle. Eleazar had once told her that to treat severe hypothermia, Doctors would extract blood from the patient, warm it and then reinsert the blood into the body. This was the best they could do without medical equipment.

"You know this is long-shot, right, Ash?" Leah looked into her eyes intently as she bent her knees and gently scooped the human up into her arms. Ashley leaned her back onto her haunches beside her leather jacket on the uneven snow-covered ground.

"I know..." Ashley nodded sombrely, watching as Leah carefully manoeuvred the human girl so that they were chest-to-chest "...I know" She repeated so softly she doubted they heard her.

The female Shifter's considerable body heat would begin seeping directly into the lifeless child's dormant chest and heart. Cupping the back of the human's little neck, Leah guided the youngling's head to rest on her broad shoulder while holding the girl up off the ground with one arm beneath her rump, the lifeless human's arms hung limply at her sides. Seth pressed his massive chest to the girl's back and wrapped his muscular arms around the human and his sister's slender waist, there wasn't an inch of space between the three bodies. Ashley's brows lowered into a pained frown as a minute passed, then two. It was a serious risk, letting the human go for any period of time without oxygen to the brain, but there was no other option, not when they were out in the wilderness of Alaska, so far away from a hospital.

Ashley chewed on the inside of her cheek as she counted the long seconds, a child's brain could survive five minutes without oxygen, her timing had to be dead on. She rubbed her graceful hands up and down her toned jeans clad thighs as she waited. She turned her head, staring down from the hilltop, toward the small grove where the Kobold's body lay and she found herself wondering why such a physically weak creature would risk an incursion into Vampire territory, Vampires were highly territorial.

"Give her to me" Ashley slipped her hands under the human's arms, when Seth broke away and Leah gently handed the girl over to her. Ashley smiled, the lifeless human was noticeably warmer and some of her colour had returned, her lips had gone from blue to white. She placed the girl back on top of her leather jacket. A thought struck her in the back of her head. Instead of resuming CPR, she curled her long slender fingers and drove her fist into the human's chest, directly over her heart, hard enough she heard two ribs snap audibly. It was a short and sharp impact, almost like an electrical pulse. She did it again. Seth opened his mouth to protest, Leah slapped him over the back of his head when she realised what the young Fae was doing.

An airy relieved laugh slipped past Ashley's luscious lips when she heard a faint heartbeat come to life in the youngling's chest. Instantly, Leah swooped down and, careful not to jar her broken ribs, lifted the human into her arms to keep her warm.

"You did good kid" Leah smiled brightly as she cradled the revived girl against her. Alleviated, Seth exhaled harshly. Ashley grinned up at her Aunt and Uncle widely, she snagged her jacket up off the ground and pushed herself regally to her feet. At five-feet-nine, both Shifters both towered over her.

Seth's nostrils flared and he turned his attention down from the hilltop, at the Kobold's corpse, his eyes hardened "You want me to take care of _that_?" He looked at Leah for confirmation, brother and sister loved each other dearly, but this was business and Leah was the Pack Beta. Mismatched though they were, the Denali Coven was a tight-knit family.

"Do it..." Leah nodded and rubbed the human's back"...We'll see you back at home" Seth smiled, affectionately touching either of his hand to both Leah and Ashley's shoulders before he set off down the hill toward to grim task waiting for him.

"Just a heads up. The receptionist at the preschool saw the kid's mom and Lucas out the window and called the Sheriff's department, and Jake called your parents" Leah told her as they started walking side-by-side down the opposite side of the hill that Seth had gone down, heading back to Healy.

"I figured" Ashley shrugged back into her leather jacket. She winced suddenly when the strangely beautiful 'birthmark' on her left hand, the intricately entwined swirls and bold lines running vertically from her thumb knuckle down to her slim wrist, began to burn.

**TBC . . .**

**AN: I think, by now, it goes without saying that its going to take me a while to update :( I'm working and studying so much right now that I go days without writing a single word for my stories, it sucks for all of us, but I hope that you can continue being patient with my erratic schedule. I probably won't have the next chapter written and ready to post until after the New Year so I'm just going to wish you all well for holidays and bid you _adieu_ for now.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: There are a host of reasons why it has taken me so long to update and I can only apologise for keeping you all waiting for over a year, your patience is truly amazing and I am really grateful for it. I promise such a lengthy delay between chapters will not happen again, not if I can help it.**

**Though I will admit that I've been sitting on the first half of this chapter since early January when I was alerted to the fact the prequel to this story, 'Coming Home', had been copied in it's entirety and reposted on Wattpad without my knowledge or consent by someone claiming to have written it themselves, something that obviously irritated and shocked me to no end. This being the sequel to 'Coming Home', I'm sure you can all understand why I was hesitant at first to continue this story. Since then I've reported the so-called 'Author' who copied my story and had 'Coming Home' removed from their profile page. Anyway, this little blip isn't going to interfere with me finishing 'Heart Of The Huntress' any longer, and with that said my friends, please enjoy the latest update :)**

**Chapter Three.**

_Kolmården Forest, Sweden._

_Fifteen hours ago._

Searching through the dead male's pockets, Bella Swan came across the last thing she'd expected to find. Dark mahogany brows furrowed into a puzzled frown as she pulled the scrap of paper free from the deceased Fae's tattered jeans and settled back into an easy crouch next to the body. The raw wind howled morosely in her ears, whipping the long thick fall of her dark hair around her strong shoulders as she studied the series of etchings scrawled across the page with tumultuous eyes, turned dark purple, the colour of bruised plums, with hunger and stress. The paper had been folded in half twice, precisely, so that the edges all met up evenly to form a perfect square.

Her eyes darkened tiredly as she slowly scanned the unfolded page. She took a deep breath, exhaling sharply. In the cold, crisp air, her breath emerged from her full lips in a thick wispy vapour. The paper was filled from corner to corner, in neat parallel rows spaced quarter of a centimetre apart, with text written in a foreign language. She closed her eyes, her long dark lashes creating shadows on her delicate cheekbones as her attention was seized abruptly by the agonising longing in her heart and the churning emptiness in the pit of her stomach. The diamond-hard tendons in her slender neck stood out starkly, straining against her pearl-white skin, as her pale mouth twisted into a pained grimace. She struggled to bite back the primal roar of yearning building up from the very core of her being, her teeth clenching so tightly a persistent tic formed in her porcelain cheeks, even so, a strangled noise erupted from her lips, like that of a wounded animal caught in a trap. Growling deep in her throat, she comforted herself with the fact she would flying home in two hours time, at midnight. She would have her beloved Rosalie back in her arms by 9am tomorrow at the latest and she would be reunited with Ashley and Lucas after they finished school for the day.

_~Been Away From My Female And My Young Too Long. It Is Unnatural.~_Instinct whispered defiantly in her ear.

She shook her head briskly, silently reminding herself that she had a job to do, and if a job was worth doing, it was worth doing well. Blinking open her heavy eyelids, she steeled herself, locking her emotions away, and focused on the foreign marks scrawled across the paper in her hand. She had a large knowledge base, having picked up fourteen different languages over the years including Latin, the mother tongue of her people, Old Norse and Ancient Greek along with some Egyptian and even a little Elvish. She absentmindedly admired the elegant handwriting as her eyes roamed intently across the unlined paper, running through every language she knew in turn as she tried to translate the text. With her preternaturally heightened eyesight, she deducted from the fine flowing lines, far smoother than anything a ball-point could produce, that they had been sketched with a fountain pen in deeply saturated black ink.

Long moments passed, finally, her upper lip curled into a resounding snarl, terrifying enough to frighten an Alpha Minotaur into submission. Unsure whether or not the markings made up some sort of encrypted message or if the note was written in a language unknown to her, Bella carefully folded the paper in half twice, the way it had been folded when she found it and slipped the square into the back pocket of her closely tailored black silk slacks with silver pinstripes. She would have to worry about that later, for now she was determined to be finished with her search.

Her sleek and alluring form still tucked into a crouch, Bella's bruised purple eyes trailed along the prone cadaver beside her. Briefly she wondered when the sight of dead bodies had stopped overwhelming her with waves of nausea. Expressionless, she examined the corpse with an intense hawk-gaze. The head was missing, leaving a clear puddle of dense ice-cold venom pooling around the severed bull neck and broad shoulders, running outwards along and across the narrow crevices between the wooden floorboards. Even so, the body, with a massive chest and muscular arms clad in a tight long-sleeved white T-shirt, was at least six and a half feet tall. In life, he had obviously been a powerful male.

Remaining hunkered down over the body, Bella draped her pale, graceful hands over her lean thighs. Tilting her head back on her shoulders, she surveyed the ruined structure rising up around her.

It had suffered a lot of damage, the simple rustic log cabin that the deceased had once called home. She expertly filed away the details as they came to her. The roof was gone, appearing as though it had been blasted away with severe force leaving behind splinters and wood shavings scattered across the floor. Through the gaping space in the roof, the luminous full moon beat down brilliant shafts of lunar light into the interior of the lodge, while also drenching the canvas of snow and barren trees outside in silvery light, and allowing the icy wind to pour into the heavily damaged building. There were no partitions in the cabin, no kitchenette or bathroom and no generator or wires to conduct electric, it was a single open room lacking every necessity a human would require. The dead male had built the cabin himself, that much was obvious to her, and he'd probably used the small nameless lake she had passed en route to the scene to bathe.

Bella's nostrils flared slightly as she curiously scented the bitter Wintry air. The body's natural odour of vibrant pine needles and ripe apples was muted but the putrid stench of death had yet to envelop the corpse. Two cylindrical, oak beams stood on opposite sides of the cabin, ceiling-supporters deeply split and cracked, as if an inexperienced lumberjack had been hacking away at them with an axe, never hitting the same spot twice. Inhaling slowly, she drew the cold air into her lungs, detecting the water and sensing the pressure starting to gather in the atmosphere. In Sweden's particularly chilly temperatures, the rainwater would freeze and fall to the earth as snow in the next two days or so. She could smell the musk of a pack of wolves in hot pursuit of a wily moose, and feel the subsonic vibrations of their paws and hooves crunching snow as they hit the ground, a dozen miles to the West but she didn't smell the torrid spice of any explosives, man or supernatural made, lingering in the interior of the cabin. So what had blasted the roof free from it's firm foundations?.

Freely flowing into the lodge, the pitilessly glacial wind washed over the contours of her agelessly beautiful face and teased the ends of her glossy mahogany hair as she slowly swivelled her head, analytically scanning the ruined structure with piercingly perceptive eyes. The door had been kicked clean off it's steel hinges with such strength that the solid oak had broken in two, both halves of the door lay flat and askew on the floor, never to touch again. Towering and enormous bookcases spanned all four of the cabin's walls, leaving only the violated entryway unobstructed, these too were cracked and scarred like the fragile ceiling-supports, looking as though they were about to crumble to dust at any moment under the weight of the battered hardback books, arranged by genre in alphabetical order, balancing precariously on their shelves. A translucent film of glittering white frost was just beginning to collect on the edges of the upper shelves but had yet to spread downward to the rest of the cabin. The decapitated male couldn't have been dead for more than a day.

Bella's facial muscles contorted sharply into a mask of empathy and regret as she returned her dark steely gaze to the body sprawled out beside her.

_'There are so few of us left now.'_

She pressed a clenched, white-knuckled fist to the flat, chiselled plain of her stomach, feeling a knot of sadness and frustration twist tightly in her gut as she began to comprehend how close she, and her companion, had come to finding her kindred Fae alive.

She choked off her sorrow as the freezing wind cried sombrely. She hadn't been able to save his life, but she was determined do right by him in death, such was her duty and desire. She refocused on her investigation.

Shifting her weight onto the balls of her feet, Bella leaned in closer to the corpse, maintaining her perfect crouching position as she reached out and took hold of the dead Fae's big right hand in both of her own. His unbending arm moved only with great difficulty. She knew from her Sire's teachings that deceased Fae enter into _Rigor Mortis _similarly to Humankind, but unlike a human whose body would eventually break down and putrefy until naught but bones remain, the body of a dead Fae will harden continuously until it is as rigid as stone. Only fire can destroy a Fae's body and put their Spirit to rest. She curiously raised his hand a little, closely inspecting the male's heavy limb. She wanted to know if he had gotten a piece of his murderer before the end, a stray lock of hair, a scrap of skin, something she could use to identify the killer by scent. She turned the dead male's palm over in her smaller, sleeker hands, noting the slightly waxy hue beginning to discolour his flesh.

Discovering nothing clutched in his right hand or wrapped around his thick fingers, she respectfully lay his palm over the middle of his muscular chest. Regally rising up out of her crouch, Bella stood and, silent as a wraith, carefully stepped around the body. Her supple leg muscles flexed smoothly beneath her tight, black Armani slacks, the thin silver pinstripes bisecting the length of her expensive silk pants gleamed faintly in the moonlight flooding the cabin, her black, long-sleeve Armani shirt with a high collar and plunging V-neck, that showed off hypnotic hints of her slender collarbones and enticing cleavage, hugged her upper body, proudly displaying her lean arms, her titanium-hard stomach and the soft, generous swells of her ample breasts, as she moved swiftly and purposefully like a prowling jungle cat. She squatted down on the other side of the male so she could get a look at his left hand.

Gripping the underside of his wide wrist in one hand, she turned his hand this way and that until her bruised purple eyes landed on a small image printed, in forest green ink, upon his flesh just below his bulging thumb knuckle. The sensitive skin at the nape of her neck prickled and stung, like a scorpion viscously stabbing it's poisonous tail into her neck. Leaping out from the shadows at the back of her mind a disquieting reminder ambushed her roughly, and she was forced to recall the complex 'tattoo' burned into her daughter's own left hand, the bold black lines and intricate swirls running vertically down from Ashley's slender thumb knuckle down to her firstborn's narrow wrist. Bella's willowy body coiled, taut and unyielding, as she considered the mate brand eternally marring her daughter's flesh, the only visible evidence of the connection between her innocent youngling to a genocidal sociopath. With a ferocious lion's growl rumbling deep in her chest, she ripped herself away from those thoughts before they could sweep her away from the present like the unstoppable current of a tsunami. She studied the small image, barely a centimetre in width and length, pressed into the dead male's hand. She could already smell the microscopic particles forming the bright green ink, the stamp was painted in, beginning to decompose and fade away. A temporary tattoo.

She allowed her mouth to curl into a grimly satisfied smile. She recognised the emblem, "Odin's Horn" Bella murmured, hardly more than a whisper, still her voice rang out like a crystal bell in the ruined cabin.

Her intense hawk-gaze trailed along the stylized symbol consisting of three interlocking drinking horns. As well as being able to speak and write Old Norse, she was also well versed in Nordic culture, both Human and Supernatural variations. Bella clasped the dead male's hands together atop his massive chest and remained crouching beside the body as all the related knowledge regarding the triple horned triskele flashed through her mind, like a computer processing code.

Odin's Horn was a symbol used in Old Nordic toasting rituals to represent the God-King's quest for the _Odhroerir,_ a magical mead brewed from the blood of the God Kvasir, who was created from the combined saliva of all the other Gods in the entire Norse pantheon, something which granted him incredible power. Kvasir was murdered by dwarves who then took his blood and mixed it with honey to make the magical mead that Odin would come to covet. As History tells it, Odin used his magic to disguise himself as a farm hand, assuming the name Bolverk, he went to the dwarves seeking work in exchange for a drink of the _Odhroerir_. For three days Odin ploughed the dwarves' fields and for three days he was allowed to drink of themagical mead. The three horns used to form the triple horned triskele reflect the three draughts of the _Odhroerir, _and the length of the God-King's quest.

The emblem of Odin's Horn had several symbolic connotations for different peoples, but among many factions within the Supernatural Collective, Odin's Horn has become a sign of revelry.

Once again, Bella draped her hands over the hard muscles of her thighs. Her bruised purple eyes darkened until they were as black as scorched volcanic rock as a disbelieving frown contorted the attractive angles of her face.

The fine, sensitive hairs on her arms and at the back of her neck tingled, alerting her to the fact she was no longer alone in the immediate vicinity. She lifted her head, steely eyes trained on the violated doorway, seeing the silhouettes of naked trees in the darkness outside, their branches, misshapen and twisted like grotesque limbs, were laden with snow. Upon entering the cabin, she had strategically placed herself so that she would be able to keep the entrances to the lodge within her line of sight at all times while conducting her examination of the scene. She tilted her head slightly to the side, remaining in a relaxed crouch, that would effortlessly shift into a defensive position with cat-like fluidity in half a nano-second if she came under threat. Composed and alert, she prepared for the return of her companion, and, though it was a highly unlikely event, the possible return of the male Fae's killer.

The icy wind surged into the cabin through the open roof and threshold, like a messenger carrying with it the scent of Freesia and Jasmine. She breathed the scent in deeply, immediately recognising to whom the smell belonged.

_~Akasha.~ _The voice of Instinct breathed.

A soft beckoning purr began to resonate outward from Bella's chest, an unspoken indication to her companion that she was aware of the other female's presence.

The combination of crushed Freesia and Jasmine was their familial marker, each member of their bloodline is perceived by the varying strengths of that same scent. Her Sire smelt more strongly of Freesia than she did of Jasmine. Footsteps sounded outside the lodge, so light and agile the moonlit snow beneath them went undisturbed. These were the measured footfalls of a natural predator deliberately announcing herself to her cub. Bella knew that if her Sire truly wished it, even as skilled as she was, she wouldn't have sensed Akasha's approach. The elder female had been trained to strictly marshal the slightest indicators of her movements, to pay close attention to wind-direction and changes, and with thousands of years of experience guiding her every action, Akasha was beyond the scope of detection for all races, excepting one. No one is safe from _them._

A rich purr filtered in through the ruined doorway, answering and mingling with her own rumbling noises of greeting.

The pale moonlight, beaming down through the open roof, caught on Akasha's white-blonde hair, making the thick and silky waist-length cascade glimmer like freshly fallen snow as the Fallen Fae Queen stepped into the ruined cabin, gracefully carrying the carriage of authority.

Penetrating and intelligent eyes, that missed nothing, observed her from an ethereally beautiful face comprised of aristocratic angles and features that belied Akasha's age. As was often the way for the elders among the Collective, it was Akasha's eyes that identified her as an Ancient creature, weathered by hardships and horrors her Sire had spared her when her biological parents had handed her over to be raised by Humans, where she had been concealed from those who Hunted their race with unparalleled determination and unequalled proficiency. Akasha's eyes, ordinarily a glittering neon blue, another of their genetic markers, now stained black with a whirlwind of hunger, homesickness and grief, much like her own, spoke of the brutal blood-feud between their people, the Fae and the dreaded _Sicarri. _

Bella glanced over her shoulder to the far right corner of the cabin, "I seem to remember you going down there" She said quietly, gesturing with a wave of her hand toward to the small open trapdoor in the floor.

The trapdoor had formerly been covered by a large oaken desk. The desk was now pushed up against one of the bookcases lining the walls, out of the way. Sire and daughter had discovered the secret hatch while searching the desk earlier. Too subtle for human ears to catch, the floorboards had creaked when Bella had sat down in the basic wooden chair attending to the desk with the intention of rifling through the drawers, the sound's tell-tale pitch had indicated to a hollow chute beneath the oak flooring.

Akasha inclined her head, gliding across the lodge toward the out-of-place desk. The six foot tall female perched herself on the edge of the sanded-smooth table while Bella settled herself onto her haunches. The three twenty-four carat gold bangles encircling each of the blonde's elegant wrists chimed as the elder female crossed her slender yet muscular arms beneath her bountiful breasts.

Akasha's lightly accented timbre was as rich and velvety as fresh honey as she relayed her findings, "As I expected, the hatch goes down into an escape tunnel. It runs East for several miles until it hits the coast. I found eight duffel bags on a table in a kind of, store room, I suppose you could call it, about halfway along the tunnel. The bags are each filled with a change of clothes and a quarter of a million in eight different currencies all sealed up in water-tight zip-locks. He'd obviously planned on swimming over to the Continent if they found him here"

With her back ram-rod straight, her head held high and a commanding aura swirling about her, the other female appeared every inch a Queen, even as Akasha's slender shoulders bunched and tensed visibly beneath her tight, sleeveless, turtle-neck. Black, just like the formfitting leather pants clinging to her long legs, the waistband rode low on her hips, Akasha's sleeveless turtle-neck made the paleness of her white-blonde, windswept hair, framing her angelic face and falling down over her shoulders to her waist, stand out all the more prominently. Bella felt her chest tighten as she watched the taller Fae's dark, ancient eyes inundate with grief as they fell upon the body of the dead Fae in the centre of the cabin. She knew Akasha felt the loss of each and every one of their people keenly, more so than anyone else.

"But they didn't find him. This isn't a _Sicarri _kill." Bella stated confidently.

Shifting nimbly until she was kneeling beside the headless cadaver on the floor, she rested her weight onto the backs of her ankles, laying her hands flat on her bent legs. It wasn't lost on her that she was in effect kneeling before the Head of her Royal House, her Queen, even though they had never stood on any ceremony.

Akasha cocked her head to the left, arching a brow, "No?. What makes you say so?"

Bella tilted her head to the right, mirroring her blonde-haired Sire, she was quick to note that the elder female wasn't challenging her opinion, the other Fae simply wanted to know _how _she had reached her conclusion.

"_Sicarri _play with their victims, especially Fae victims. They torture and mutilate and they take their time doing it. You and I both know this and we've seen the evidence they left behind." She swallowed hard as a barrage of gruesome tableaus invaded her mind's-eye, images of such sadistic savagery as to make The Whitechapel Murders of 1888 pale in comparison. Akasha's beautiful face contorted into a pained mask, her ancient oil-dark eyes glassy.

"This kill was quick and clean. And the murderer took his head as a trophy. A _Sicarri _doesn't take mementoes from corpses. The last two dead Fae we found...the things done to them were..." Bella's long slender fingers curled into tight fists. She sucked in a steadying breath as righteous rage began to burn in her heart. She forced herself to continue, biting out the words between gritted teeth, "...They were brutalised and butchered and then left for us to find like some macabre message from the killer. Their bodies might not have been intact but...the _Sicarri _who killed them didn't take anything with them"

Akasha stiffened, clenching her eyes shut as a sombre noise erupted from her pale pink mouth before she could catch it, "You mean to say that _Alexia _did not take anything with her after she slaughtered our brethren."

"Do not remind me that my young is mated to a monster, Akasha..." Bella growled, snappishly, pleadingly "...Not when I can't stop her from claiming Ashley. I don't want to think about it, I can't, not now" Not when the day of Reckoning is looming over her family like the glistening blade of a guillotine ready to put an end to everything they have built.

"Forgive me." Akasha whispered, distraught, her lightly accented voice sounding dull and far away. And she knew her Sire wasn't just asking forgiveness for mentioning thename of Evil incarnate, Akasha was asking forgiveness for so much more.

The tension in the cold air was palpable. From where she knelt on the ruined cabin's floor, Bella fixed her jet black eyes on her Sire, watching closely as the pale blonde-haired female wrapped her arms around herself.

Bella swallowed hard, trying to clear the lump constricting her throat as she began steering their conversation back on track and away from the disturbing subject of her daughter's unbreakable tether to the most prolific serial killer in existence, "Human murderers kill for sport and they take trophies from their victims to help them relive their crimes over and over again..." She had to clear her throat, twice, before she could continue, "...Supernatural Creatures aren't inclined to take trophies, as you well know, because we do not kill for the same reasons as humans. We adhere to our instincts. Primarily we'll only kill to defend and expand our territory, to feed ourselves, to claim a mate and to protect our family. The _Sicarri _are a race of rare anomalies, to find perverse pleasure in watching others suffer."

"It was not always so. The _Sicarri _are a ruthless people, this is true. But remember that the _Sicarri _are the children of Artemis and as such, Hunting and killing are to them what Sunday Mass is to Catholics and Christians, their way of paying homage to their Goddess, their primary purpose. Each of their kills empowers their Mother, it is what She created them to do, and for that reason, remorse for their victims is a completely alien concept. One they will never grasp, it is not in their nature. But there was a time the _Sicarri_ killed their prey in a quick and clean manner..." Akasha's gaze settled on the decapitated body beside Bella's kneeling form once again, her jaw clenching visibly.

"...Similar to that. They were honourable, in their own way. Even now, when they actively go out of their way to hurt their victims, they are still fulfilling their primary purpose."

"What are you getting at, Akasha?" She demanded.

"We, Supernatural creatures, don't kill purely for pleasure. It is always done with a rational purpose, at least in part. So I ask you, why did the murderer take his head with them when they left?. If not to relive the crime or to remember the pleasure of the kill, then why bother?." Akasha asked, genuinely perplexed.

Bella reached out and took hold of the dead male's left hand, tilting his heavy palm to display the bright green stamp printed beneath the wide thumb knuckle, "The ink is temporary, like the kind of temporary tattoo you might get upon admittance to a club, and the stamp itself shows Odin's Horn, the sign of Revelry. I know it sounds completely insane, he'd been running from the _Sicarri _since the time of The Great Purge and he didn't survive the better part of ten thousand years being reckless and risking a night out at a club where anyone might pick up on his scent as he travels back and forth-"

"But?" Akasha prompted.

Bella laid the dead male's palm over the back of his right hand in the centre of his massive chest, pressing her own hands to her toned thighs as she remained kneeling beside the corpse, "But we Fae aren't solitary animals by choice. We're supposed to live in nests, multiple family units thriving together. I've found no evidence to suggest anyone else has been inhabiting this cabin with him which means he spent several millennia utterly alone, without a mate and without a family, isolated from the rest of our kind. For Christ sake, he probably started talking to the walls and the animals out in the forest just to fill the silence. I know I don't just speak for myself when I say I would go insane if I had to survive like that. The loneliness probably ate away at him until he was driven to seek out companionship of some kind. And there are plenty of nightclubs exclusive to the Supernatural Collective in Stockholm to the North."

"No, Bella, what is insane is that he by some miracle managed to stay safe from the _Sicarri, _the Gods' favourite Creations, and from Alexia, a Huntress of such high calibre she is second only to the Goddess of the Hunt herself, for thousands of years only to be killed by something else" Akasha said, her lightly accented voice was unnaturally calm but the growl resounding in her chest was bestial.

Bella felt an answering growl built in the back of her own throat, she too, felt the instinctive need to get justice for the dead male, whatever it takes. Akasha pushed herself up from the out-of-place desk's edge, straightening up to her full six foot, the elder female tilted her head back and she stared up through the gaping hole in the ruined roof up at the blanket of twinkling stars stretching across the black night sky.

"After I ran the length of the underground escape tunnel, I returned above ground on the off chance I might pick up the killer's scent..." Bella had guessed as much when Akasha had walked in cabin's door, instead of climbing back up the hatch leading down to the tunnel. The Fallen Fae Queen began to pace back and forth, from wall to wall,

"...I found nothing out of the ordinary, and if I found nothing it means we are dealing with a highly organised and experienced predator..." She watched the elder female closely, waiting for the question she knew was coming, "...What do you think caused the damage to the roof?"

"At first, I thought, maybe he was attacked outside the cabin, that the killer had gotten hold of him and somehow ended up throwing him through the roof..." She swivelled her head, observing the small wood shavings and splinters littering the oak floor of the cabin, "...But there is hardly any debris inside, if he'd crashed in through the roof the whole ceiling would have collapsed in with him, instead it is just, gone. I considered explosives, but that is an even more unlikely scenario, the entire cabin and the body would have been utterly eviscerated, plus, the explosives would have left a lingering scent, there is nothing"

Akasha continued to pace, her shoulders bunching beneath the tight, expensive fabric of her sleeveless turtle neck as she grazed a slender fingertip along the edge of one of the bookshelves, "Over a hundred thousand years ago, when my Grandfather was King, our territory covered over ten per cent of the World, double that of the first Persian Empire..." Akasha seemingly pulled a hardback book from the shelf at random and flipped the cover open, she began flicking through the pages.

"...As you know, we Fae are a subspecies of the _Sicarri. _It requires many generations, many matings, but if you mix enough human blood with _Sicarri _venom, that coupling will eventually produce a Fae. We remained unaware of our heritage for countless centuries, as did the _Sicarri, _I do not know the exact details but about sixty thousand years ago during my Sire's, your Grandsire's, reign as Queen, she was approached by the _Sicarri Prima _at the time_. _Alexis, Alexia's Mother and her namesake, had somehow discovered the connection between our two peoples. It would be fifty thousand years before I was born and first met the _Prima, _but I remember thinking once that Alexis always looked at us the way a human looks at their pet cat when the animal does something the human thinks is amusing or peculiar" Akasha snapped the book closed in her hands and reverently replaced on it's designated spot on the shelf.

"_Prima _Alexis invited our kind to rejoin the _Sicarri. _We were wary at first, after all they were unknown to us, but we soon began to find our mates among the _Sicarri__'s _ranks and so more and more of us accepted Alexis' gracious invitation. By the time I met Alexia and her Mother, most Fae had already left the human Realm behind and relocated to _Theïkós, _the _Sicar__ri's _homeland, sculpted for them by the Greek Gods themselves. The _Sicarri-_Fae Alliance was greater than any Empire humanity has ever seen, greater even than the Atlantean Imperium is today"

"You've told me this before" Bella said with calm curiosity, wondering why her Sire was reiterating her History lessons.

"Mmhm..." Akasha nodded her head, pulling out another book from a different shelf, "...What I have not told you, is that after we fled _Theïkós_ in the wake of The Great Purge, we returned to the human Realm to find that our territory had been divided among other factions of the Supernatural Collective. I led my small nest to the Carpathian Mountains, not knowing that the Valkyrie Sisterhood had claimed the territory as their own. We fought. And while I was protecting my nest, a Valkyrie engaged me in combat. A Valkyrie's shriek is so piercing it can shatter glass with ease, reaching a frequency a million times higher than any human opera singer could hope to reach. They always let loose a war cry when entering battle. Not only did the Valkyrie's scream have my ears bleeding venom, it incapacitated me, knocked me unconscious for the first time in my life. When I came to, I was face-to-face with the Valkyrie Queen, she still reigns over the Sisterhood today. Explanations were given. She finally agreed that we never actually relinquished our territory so we had every right to live in the mountains if we so chose. I knew the _Sicarri _were hunting us so I assured her we wouldn't be staying long, and that while we were in the mountains we would abide by her laws. We may not have verbally relinquished our claim on the Carpathians but we did abandon our territory to live amongst the _Sicarri_. As far as I was, and still am, concerned the Mountains belonged to the Valkyrie, and we were just passing through. These days, Queen Nymeria rules over most of central Europe, including Sweden."

"If a Valkyrie's war cry is so powerful, and she tilted her head back and projected her voice upwards...It could really rip the roof free and send the debris flying so far out into the forest we missed it?" Bella asked, eyebrows raised.

"Imbued with rage or sorrow, a Valkyrie's shriek would be louder and more powerful than a sonic boom. Our kind might be physically superior, but allow a Valkyrie to get her hands on a blade or bow and there is a fifty-fifty chance she'll take your head off, no question about it. They are peerless warriors, respected by all the Collective. They are not to be taken lightly or trifled with in any way, shape or form."

Bella rose to her feet, spreading her arms in a quizzical motion, "Why would a Valkyrie kill one of us and take the head with her?, especially if we've always had such a cordial relationship with them."

"I don't know for certain, but I will find out, one way or another." Akasha swore, her light accent thickening with her conviction.

"You're staying here then?. Elena will be distressed to hear it."

"I will call her tonight and explain what we have learned here, Elena will understand. I can survive away from my mate longer than you can, Bella, but that isn't the only reason you need to go home to Rosalie and the Twins..." Akasha swallowed hard, her black eyes shinning brightly in the darkness of the cabin, the elder female seemed to have difficulty finding her voice, "...Ashley and Lucas come of age in a few days. Alexia will come for Ashley, as we have always known she would, and your mate and your younglings will need you more than ever when she does."

_'An inevitability Rosalie and I have planned for the best we could.' _

"You should start your search by looking into the club he visited. I'll get in touch with Rose before I board my flight home, ask her to access the Collective's database and track down which club the stamp on his hand belongs to. I'll text you the address and who owns it. Before you fly back to Alaska, I'd like you to make sure the money you found in the storeroom makes its way to the local orphanages and homeless shelters. Something good should come of this tragedy."

"I will." Akasha vowed.

Bella plunged her hand into the tight front pocket of her silk Armani slacks, pulling out her I-Phone, she checked the time, _23:4__2__pm, _"The jet leaves at midnight. Storm demons are sticklers for punctuality and our pilot is particularly anal about time-keeping even with the bundle I'm paying him, thankfully I've got more than enough time to make it to the airstrip."

Bella stared at her phone's wallpaper for a moment, at the picture of Ashley and Lucas cuddled up with Rosalie on one of the plush leather couches furnishing the lounge in Denali Mansion, the angelic trio smiling contentedly and laughing together, she could vividly recall the sounds of them purring lovingly as she took the photo, a couple of months ago, before being drawn into their embrace. At last, she somehow managed to find the strength required to rip her dark eyes away from the visage of all three pieces of her heart imprinted on her phone's screen, and cast her attention down at the headless body laying at her feet. She pushed her phone back into her pocket.

"I'll stay while you give him his last rites. Though he is a stranger to me, I feel like I owe him this. He is Fae. One of us. One of mine."

A bitter-sweet smile of maternal pride sluggishly tugged the corners of Akasha's mouth upwards, "Come, we'll need to tear up some trees to make his funeral pyre" Akasha started for the violated doorway, the gold bangles encircling her wrists chimed softly. Bella firmly caught her Sire's arm as the Fallen Fae Queen started to glide passed her. Gripping the taller female's lean arm at the elbow, she forced her Sire to turn back around and face her. Akasha cocked her white-blonde head in an unspoken question.

"One last thing..." She released her hold on her Sire to root around in her back pocket for the folded square of paper, "...Any idea what language this is written in?" She asked, unfolding the page and relinquishing it to Akasha.

The other Fae took the page from her and studied the text intently. Bella crossed her arms over the ample swells of her breasts as she watched Akasha's eyes trace the lines of writing, the blonde's lips pursed. Seconds crept into minutes, "Not the one..." Akasha admitted bluntly, folding the paper back into a square and extending it toward her, "...But that does not mean it is not encrypted, and you only encrypt information you deem so important you do not want just anyone reading it. You will have to ask Rosalie to take a look at the message when you return home. You mate's affinity for such things is truly remarkable, and somewhat terrifying."

In spite of herself, Bella laughed melodiously as she took the paper back from her Sire and tucked it away in her back pocket again, her chest swelling with pride at the reminder of Rosalie's considerable and widely respected talents, "Only if you have something to hide, Akasha..." It flashed over Akasha's ethereally beautiful face so quickly that Bella thought she might have imagined it, a haunted expression that manifested and vanished faster than the blink of an eye. She filed this troubled look away in the recesses of her mind for later consideration.

"...Only if you have something to hide."

**TBC. . .**

**AN: Now you all know I have work obligations and various other ****unavoidable**** demands on my time, so I am not about to promise a speedy chapter four because I'll end up breaking that promise, but I do promise I will not abandon this story for any reason, unless of course I fall off the face of the planet ;****D****I'll update as soon as I possibly can, ****bearing in mind I have two other stories to update beforehand****, in the meantime I hope you can continue to be as amazingly patient as you have been, and who knows ****in ****Chapter Four**** we may see Ashley and Alexia together.**


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